Background

The Customer Sales & Service Centre at M&S handles thousands of queries, requests and complaints from customers everyday. And they’re customers who have very high expectations of a retailer they’ve known and loved all their lives. M&S wanted to be sure that customers received the same high levels of service, whether they were in a store, or exchanging emails or letters with M&S colleagues. But their templated communications were a mixed bag. Some had been created many years previously – and added to every now and again as details changed. Others had been created with the help of legal experts, science and food science experts – and even furniture experts and logistics specialists. None of the templated communications felt like they came from the same organisation – and they certainly didn’t feel as though they’d come from M&S.

What we did

As part of a wider project with M&S, we reviewed the entire suite of templated communications. There were several hundred documents and we wanted to be sure that there were no duplicates or unnecessary overlaps before we began to rewrite. Once we’d rationalised all of the templated documents, we rewrote them all in the M&S brand tone of voice.

Results

When the rewritten documents were launched, there was a measurable increase in first time resolution. This included a decrease in calls – especially around more serious queries and complaints.

Want to learn more about how we helped M&S? Check out these links:

FAQs on copywriting
Our approach to copywriting for customer services
Blog: The art of creating brilliant customer service templates
Find out more about how we support contact centres